Rahne Pistor v. Carlos Garcia

Our question is whether tribal officers may assert tribal sovereign immunity when sued in their individual capacities for an assertedly unconstitutional detention and seizure of property. The seizure and detention at issue took place at a casino owned and operated by a tribe on tribal land.

We conclude that the tribal defendants are not entitled to sovereign immunity because they were sued in their individual rather than their official capacities, as any recovery will run against the individual tribal defendants, rather than the tribe. Maxwell v. County of San Diego, 708 F.3d 1075, 1089 (9th Cir.2013), makes our determination pretty much foreordained. But the position of the litigants in this case, and the reluctance of the district court to decide the issue on the pleadings, suggest continuing confusion regarding the application of Maxwell , and also regarding the intersection of tribal sovereign immunity doctrine with § 1983 principles in tort actions brought against tribal officials. We therefore further clarify our previous rulings on these issues.

I.

Plaintiffs Rahne Pistor, George Abel, and Jacob Whitherspoon (“the gamblers”) are “advantage gamblers” who “use[ ]…